i like you and me
by sanumarox123
Summary: "Met in a diner at 2am while it's raining" AU.


**This is based on a prompt I received and filled on my tumblr. I decided to post it here as well. **

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><p><strong>(Set before s1 btw so Castle is still writing Storm, etc.)<strong>

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><p><strong>(unedited because my beta is currently sleeping.)<strong>

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><p>The door chimes as Rick enters the small diner. His jacket and dark blue jeans are almost drenched from the freezing rain (he swears it's not <em>rain<em> judging from the small pellets that pounded on his back as he walked outside, but the weather station claims it's only rain and since they know everything because they're _inside a frickin' building_ and not _outside_, where the "rain" is, everyone has to take their word for granted) and his hair sticks unceremoniously to his forehead. He shivers but he gives a small flash of an almost-there smile to the teen at the cashier and walks to a small, round table near the back.

After he spreads his jacket on the back of the seat next to his to dry it out, he glances at his watch to see the time. 2:16am. He scolds himself internally, but knows it's futile. He should be asleep right now, in his warm and dry bed, but somehow inspiration wouldn't strike and Gina just wouldn't let up with her nagging, so he shut his phone off and decided to take a cab and walk a little.

And apparently he's ended up here, sitting in a small diner a bit out of the city.

An older waitress with a name tag that says _Julia_ comes up to his table with a pot of coffee and asks with a tired albeit bright smile if he would like a cup. He is tired and grumpy and caffeine is usually the only thing that can fix that, so he agrees. She fills his mug happily and he thanks her profusely, grinning as she blushes and hurries away.

He adds cream and two sugars to his black coffee and sips it quietly. He scrolls through his Twitter timeline on his phone, and looks up when the door chimes once again, and then he's stunned by the sight that is (almost literally) right before him.

A young woman a few years younger than him, with beautiful caramel waves that seem to have been flattened because of the pouring rain is standing in the doorway, shaking off her umbrella (why didn't he think of that…?), and shrugging out of her coat. He has this sudden urge to go and help her, to go and be the gentleman only his close friends have seen, yet before he can move she's striding confidently to the counter and ordering.

(She must come here often, judging from the way she greets the cashier by his first name and asks him about someone named "Steph".)

The mystery woman sits down at the table in the other side of the room, and pulls out slips of paper that she starts to shuffle and organize as she waits for her order.

Rick realizes he's staring but he can't help it, not even when she catches him and raises an eyebrow, her lips pursing into a ghost of a smile, and his heart trips.

(She didn't even smile and suddenly he can't breath.)

He finds himself walking over, coffee in one hand and his coat on the other, to this woman who he has never met before, and when he's standing at her table, she glances up, and then his mouth goes dry and his stomach drops.

Because she's absolutely gorgeous.

Her hazel eyes twinkle with surprise and laughter, and he's drawn into them, unable to stop gazing into them.

"Can I help you?" Her voice is filled with mirth and words evade him.

She waves a hand in front of his eyes and then suddenly his ear is _hurting hurting hurting_ and he's grabbing his ear, his reverie interrupted.

"Oh, hi, I'm – uh… I'm Rick." He gasps out, because _damn it_ his ear really hurts and she must have a really strong grip and then his thoughts go in the other direction and he mentally slaps himself. _Get your mind out of the gutter, Rick_.

She laughs. "And I'm Kate. And you just spent the past five minutes staring creepily at me."

He feels his neck redden, embarrassment prominent on his features. "Nice to meet you, Kate." He responds, his manners coming back to him (somewhat).

She gestures at the seat across from her. "You want to sit down?"

He nods, and settles down.

"So, Rick. Want to share with the class why you haven't been able to take your eyes off of me since I entered this diner?" She teases, and suddenly he has the need to answer seriously, where usually he would tease right back.

"Because you're beautiful, and there's something about you that caught my attention, something that hasn't left me alone since I first saw you. There's more to you that meets the eye, that's for sure."

She hides behind a curtain of hair and stirs her coffee after he says that, and he waits impatiently for a response. When she looks up again, her eyes are shining, and not with laughter this time. This time it's something different, and he's struck with a vision of a young girl, with a family, or a broken family, her eyes shining with tears as her face evokes pain.

(She's something else, that's for sure.)

"Are you sure you want to find out?" She whispers, and impulsively grabs the hand that's around her coffee mug.

"Yes." He states, and he doesn't know why, but when she smiles, even through her sad expression, his heart breaks and mends itself at the same time, and he can't help but think, "_This girl might be it for me_".

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><p><strong>This is probably my last ficfill for a while, seeing as exams are in a week and i need every second to make up for the time I wasted these two weeks during the holidays.**

**Not to mention the absurd amount of work I have to do. And my messed up sleeping schedule I really need to fix.**

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><p><strong>I hope you all enjoyed. <strong>


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